Cor
by Readergirl37
Summary: A universe alteration where the Originals killed their mother successfully and Rebekah was the one to fix the Alaric problem. Elijah leaves as soon as Alaric's dead, for his own reasons. Elena goes to find him. Elijah/Elena UA
1. Deal

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

AN: AU where the Originals killed their mother successfully and Rebekah was the one to fix the Alaric problem. Elijah leaves as soon as Alaric's dead, for his own reasons. Elena goes to find him. Also the title is not a weird misspelling, it's the Latin word for heart. Some of you may have noticed I use the word sanguis a lot-Latin word for blood.

She's been driving for a few hours. She checks the address she got from Bonnie again, and parks. She gets out of her car, anxious, letter in her pocket. She enters the building, and there's only a few tenants. She checks the little cards on each door, and tries to remember the names Elijah went by. She finds a door that says Smith, and she takes a deep breath and knocks. There's a moment of pause, and in it she momentarily panics-what if she knocked on a stranger's door? What if Elijah never wants to see her again? The latter thought almost physically hurts, and then the door swings open and she almost stops breathing. All of the words she had carefully scripted flew out of her head.

"Elijah." She sounds breathless. He looks at her, surprised.

"Elena." He says, and there's something in his eyes that she didn't remember being there before.

"Please, come in." He says politely, although he doesn't want to see her. He left to let his dead heart rest, to stop getting ripped up by a human girl.

"How did you find me?" He asks. She pulls the letter out of her pocket, and he's surprised to notice it's worn. She's read it several times. The conclusion makes him want to rethink a few things, and she looks around his apartment for a second before speaking again. It's dark colors and dark wood, and she wants to look at every one of the books she sees.

"Come back to Mystic Falls." She requests. He's too busy re-memorizing her to notice very much else, and he asks why. She bites her lip, and he wants to kiss her, but no. That's one of his flaws, he tells himself. Unrequited love.

She looks down for a second, and sighs. He sees the facade slip away. She's tired, looks like she's barely slept in days, there is exhaustion in how she holds herself.

"Things have been hard without you." She says, and he tries to figure out what her vague statement could mean before she continues.

"We took down your mother, and Alaric, and you left right after. Alaric's funeral was two days ago."

"I'm sorry for your loss." The words come out automatically, but sincerely.

"Me too. Elijah, I need help. Stefan and Damon are busy fighting and Caroline can't help me. And I definitely can't go to your siblings." She says and he doesn't understand.

"Help with what?" He asks, and she doesn't answer. In the silence, he hears it.

"Why isn't your heart beating? Elena-what happened?" He forgets that he's supposed to stay away, and he moves into her space. The few feet they had in distance is reduced to a few inches.

"Rebekah's solution to kill Alaric was to kill me. I'm a vampire." She wonders how he doesn't know. She's startled when she finds herself in a hug. She wraps her arms around him, she's never been this close to him before.

"It's been hard without you. I can't keep blood down, Elijah and all of my emotions are everywhere and I haven't slept or eaten in days. Why'd you leave Mystic Falls?" She asks. He pauses.

"I'm in love with someone who will never love me back." He tells her quietly, as she's pressed into him.

"Me too." She confesses. Of course, one of the Salvatores.

"Can we make a deal?" She asks, her arms still wrapped around his torso.

"What kind of deal?" He asks, and she pauses.

"Come back to Mystic Falls." She begins.

"What's in it for me?" Elijah asks, and she sighs.

"You decide." She offers.

"I want secrets in exchange for my return and my assumed help for you to adjust to life as a vampire." He says, and she sighs again.

"Deal. Ask away." She says as soon as he finishes his train of thought. It's the first time she hasn't felt like she's drunk too much coffee since her death. Elijah is familiar, not as familiar as Bonnie, or Caroline, or Jeremy-but he's a more composed version of familiar. None of her friends or her brother know what to do to help. He lets out a big sigh, he seems to sense her need to have an anchor, because he still doesn't let go when he asks,

"So which of the Salvatores are you in love with?"


	2. Strength and Denial

She moves away from him, he lets go. Her eyebrows are furrowed.

"What?" She asks.

"Are you in love with Stefan or Damon?" He asks, calmly. Once he knows, he'll be sure he has no chance he tells himself.

"I'm not in love with either of them. They're fighting over Katherine." She tells him and he looks mystified.

"Who are you in love with, Elena?" He asks and she makes a noise of objection. He gives her an amused look. She never specified how many secrets. She looks irritated. He watches her, and she takes a deep breath she doesn't need anymore.

"Is this necessary?" SHe asks, and she hates how she sounds, tired and fragile, but if she tells him, then their relationship, their status as friends and allies is damaged.

"Tell me." He says casually, and she blurts it.

"It's you, okay?"

He freezes. He can't help the small grin forming on his lips.

"Me? You love me?" He asks, and she looks like she's about to cry, she's blinking rapidly.

"Yeah, I get that I'm pathetic, Elijah. Are you going to come to Mystic Falls or not?" She demands, like her voice could cover her insecurity. It doesn't. She doesn't hear anything from him, and she reaches for the doorknob.

"Elena." He drawls.

She turns around, she wants to yell at him, it doesn't matter that he's an Original and could kill her in a second, it doesn't matter he let her die, she wants to rage against him. He's making fun of her.

"Who are you in love with, Elijah? A secret for a secret is only fair." She hisses.

"You." He says simply, and waits for her understanding.

"Me what?" She demands to know.

"The unattainable person who I am in love with is you." He tells her and her brain goes blank, and she freezes. She moves, and doesn't know how-but she kisses him, moving him against one of the walls of his apartment. He enjoys her new strength. He lets her keep him there.


	3. Epilogue

The morning after, he gives her a blood bag from the fridge, and watches her tentatively bite into it. It's a step. Adjusting to being a vampire is like a dance, he tells her. There are steps, the speed varies and it gets easier with practice. They return to Mystic Falls once he makes suitable arrangements for his apartment and things. He and Elena keep working on the dance of being a vampire.

finis


End file.
